Method and system for presence detection

• US 9,697,539 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2015
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: shopkick, Inc. (SK Telecom Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: shopkick, Inc. (SK Telecom Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Emigh, Aaron T., Stanek, Steven, Lee, Yen C.
• Primary Examiner(s): STOLTENBERG, DAVID J
• Application Number:
  US14/952,822
• Publication Number:
  US 20160078484A1
• Time in Patent Office: 587 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/72 using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/763 using the Doppler shift introduced by the relative motion between beacon and receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/04 Systems determining presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/012 Identifying whether indoors or outdoors
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/015 between indoor and outdoor environments
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0257 Hybrid positioning by coordinating position lines of different shape G01S5/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/18 using ultrasonic, sonic, or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0211 Determining the effectiveness of discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/50 by performing operations within image blocks; by using histograms, e.g. histogram of oriented gradients [HoG]; by summing image-intensity values; Projection analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/75 : Organisation of the matching processes, e.g. simultaneous or sequential comparisons of image or video features; Coarse-fine approaches, e.g. multi-scale approaches; using context analysis; Selection of dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/10 : Terrestrial scenes scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/08 : Detecting or categorising vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/142 : using hand-held instruments; Constructional details of the instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/2247 : Characters composed of bars, e.g. CMC-7
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 11/00 : Transmission systems employing sonic, ultrasonic or infrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 : Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/23 : for mobile advertising

Abstract

Various presence detection techniques are disclosed. In some embodiments, a system comprises a signal generator configured to generate a signal that includes a plurality of selected frequencies that are selected from among a set of candidate frequencies, wherein inclusion or exclusion of each candidate frequency in the signal encodes a bit of information and wherein the encoded information comprises a store identifier that identifies a retail store; and a transmitter configured to transmit the signal within the retail store; wherein presence of a device in the retail store is determined in response to reception of the signal at the device and extraction of the store identifier from the received signal by decoding the received signal.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a signal generator configured to generate a signal that includes a plurality of selected frequencies that are selected from among a set of candidate frequencies, wherein inclusion or exclusion of each candidate frequency in the signal encodes a bit of information and wherein the encoded information comprises a store identifier that identifies a retail store and a Doppler correction code; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the signal within the retail store;

wherein presence of a device in the retail store is determined in response to reception of the signal at the device and extraction of the store identifier from the received signal by decoding the received signal and compensating for Doppler shift introduced by motion of the device in the retail store using the Doppler correction code.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein information is encoded on the signal based on which of the candidate frequencies are selected to be included in the signal.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the encoded information further comprises a department identifier that identifies a department within the retail store.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the encoded information further comprises a code for error detection, error correction, or both.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a subset of the set of candidate frequencies encodes the store identifier.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of selected frequencies comprises a prescribed frequency dedicated to Doppler correction.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the prescribed frequency for Doppler correction is transmitted with higher power than other selected frequencies.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein detection of a presence or an absence of each candidate frequency in the received signal is used to recover the encoded information.

9. A system, comprising:

a receiver of a device present in a retail store configured to receive a signal that is transmitted within the retail store and that includes a plurality of selected frequencies that are selected from among a set of candidate frequencies, wherein inclusion or exclusion of each candidate frequency in the transmitted signal encodes a bit of information and wherein the encoded information comprises a store identifier that identifies the retail store and a Doppler correction code; and

a processor configured to;

decode the received signal, wherein detection of a presence or an absence of each candidate frequency in the received signal is used to recover information encoded in the received signal and wherein Doppler shift introduced by motion of the device in the retail store is compensated using the Doppler correction code; and

determine presence of the device in the retail store in response to extracting the store identifier from the received signal.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein information is encoded on the transmitted signal based on which of the candidate frequencies are selected to be included in the transmitted signal.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the encoded information further comprises a department identifier that identifies a department within the retail store.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the encoded information further comprises a code for error detection, error correction, or both.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein a subset of the set of candidate frequencies encodes the store identifier.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of selected frequencies comprises a prescribed frequency dedicated to Doppler correction.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the prescribed frequency for Doppler correction is transmitted with higher power than other selected frequencies.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor determines Doppler shift based on an amount of Doppler shift experienced by the prescribed frequency dedicated to Doppler correction.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein to decode the received signal comprises to compensate for background noise.

18. The system of claim 9, wherein to decode the received signal comprises to perform error correction, error detection, or both.

19. A method, comprising:

configuring a signal generator to generate a signal that includes a plurality of selected frequencies that are selected from among a set of candidate frequencies, wherein inclusion or exclusion of each candidate frequency in the signal encodes a bit of information and wherein the encoded information comprises a store identifier that identifies a retail store and a Doppler correction code; and

configuring a transmitter to transmit the signal within the retail store;

wherein presence of a device in the retail store is determined in response to reception of the signal at the device and extraction of the store identifier from the received signal by decoding the received signal and compensating for Doppler shift introduced by motion of the device in the retail store using the Doppler correction code.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein information is encoded on the signal based on which of the candidate frequencies are selected to be included in the signal.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the encoded information further comprises a department identifier that identifies a department within the retail store.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the encoded information further comprises a code for error detection, error correction, or both.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein a subset of the set of candidate frequencies encodes the store identifier.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the plurality of selected frequencies comprises a prescribed frequency dedicated to Doppler correction.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the prescribed frequency for Doppler correction is transmitted with higher power than other selected frequencies.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein detection of a presence or an absence of each candidate frequency in the received signal is used to recover the encoded information.

20. A method, comprising:

configuring a receiver of a device present in a retail store to receive a signal that is transmitted within the retail store and that includes a plurality of selected frequencies that are selected from among a set of candidate frequencies, wherein inclusion or exclusion of each candidate frequency in the transmitted signal encodes a bit of information and wherein the encoded information comprises a store identifier that identifies the retail store and a Doppler correction code; and

configuring a processor to decode the received signal, wherein detection of a presence or an absence of each candidate frequency in the received signal is used to recover information encoded in the received signal and wherein Doppler shift introduced by motion of the device in the retail store is compensated using the Doppler correction code, and to determine presence of the device in the retail store in response to extracting the store identifier from the received signal.

28. The method of claim 20, wherein information is encoded on the transmitted signal based on which of the candidate frequencies are selected to be included in the transmitted signal.

29. The method of claim 20, wherein the encoded information further comprises a department identifier that identifies a department within the retail store.

30. The method of claim 20, wherein the encoded information further comprises a code for error detection, error correction, or both.

31. The method of claim 20, wherein a subset of the set of candidate frequencies encodes the store identifier.

32. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of selected frequencies comprises a prescribed frequency dedicated to Doppler correction.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the prescribed frequency for Doppler correction is transmitted with higher power than other selected frequencies.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the processor determines Doppler shift based on an amount of Doppler shift experienced by the prescribed frequency dedicated to Doppler correction.

35. The method of claim 20, wherein to decode the received signal comprises to compensate for background noise.

36. The method of claim 20, wherein to decode the received signal comprises to perform error correction, error detection, or both.